Spain Probes the Causes of Extensive Blackout

Top officials in Spain are dedicated to uncovering the reasons behind a massive power outage that left tens of millions without electricity across the Iberian Peninsula.

A dedicated meeting was convened on Wednesday morning with Spain's leading security and defense authorities to strategize on the recent blackout that disrupted essential services for nearly 18 hours in certain regions.

Both Spain and Portugal's governments are under mounting pressure to determine the cause of the power grid failure. The Spanish administration has sought help from European regulatory bodies and domestic agencies to probe the incident.

At 9 a.m. local time, Spain’s National Security Council gathered in Madrid to deliberate over the blackout. Those present included Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the defense chief, and directors of the National Intelligence Center along with the Department of National Security.

Following this, the Council of Ministers held their session at 10 a.m. to further examine the power failure.

The outage, which commenced on Monday afternoon, affected Spain and Portugal until normal electricity supply was resumed by Tuesday morning. This has raised concerns regarding the susceptibility of the power grid to such disruptions, especially due to the swift changes implemented by Spain's national grid operator, Red Eléctrica.

Prime Minister Sánchez noted that an investigative commission led by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition has been established to determine the cause of the outage.

Authorities in Spain continue to explore various potential explanations.

Although Red Eléctrica has dismissed any indications of a cyberattack, a court has instructed them, along with the intelligence services and police, to produce reports within ten days to verify if cyber malfeasance was involved.

According to Prime Minister Sánchez, the National Cryptologic Center is actively assessing the potential cybersecurity risks linked to this electrical incident.

Sánchez stated that both Red Eléctrica and private operators' digital records are being painstakingly reviewed to ensure no possibility is discounted.

After electricity service was restored, on Tuesday night, Spain's Interior Ministry scaled down most emergency orders that were enforced during the blackout, reducing the threat level in many areas from high to medium, which allows for national assistance to regional authorities.

Nevertheless, Madrid and Extremadura in the west have maintained the highest alert status because they did not request a downgrade, as reported by the ministry.